Reuters: Tobacco epidemic at turning point as male smoking rates stall: WHO
“The number of men who smoke and use tobacco has stopped rising and is on the turn for the first time, marking a shift in a global epidemic that has killed tens of millions of people over decades, the World Health Organization said on Thursday. The change in global smoking trends shows that governments’ efforts to control tobacco are working ‘to save lives, protect health, beat tobacco,’ the WHO said in a report. It promised to work closely with countries to maintain the downward trend…” (Kelland, 12/18).

U.N. News: U.N. health agency signals tobacco might be reaching burn-out among men
“…Showing that tobacco use can be reversed should also give Governments confidence that they can meet the global target of a 30 percent reduction in tobacco use by 2025, the WHO official maintained. Despite the positive trend, however, the world is not on track to meet this target, he insisted, noting also that more than eight million people die from tobacco use every year — approximately half of its users. More than seven million of those deaths are from direct tobacco use while around 1.2 million fatalities are non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke, WHO said…” (12/18).

Additional coverage of the report is available from Bloomberg and VOA.